Keith Martin

I attended my first Barrett-Jackson auction 30 years ago, in 1992. There might have been one or two other people on the plane to Phoenix from Portland who were going to the auction. At that time, it was a relatively unknown event. When I arrived, I recall being stunned and delighted by the sight of…

“Driving the Jaguar had to be one of the most unexpected experiences I’ve ever had. By unexpected I mean every time I thought the car was going to do something it managed to surprise me. Even by the time I thought I had mastered the car it managed to do something new. From the way…

This past Saturday marked the 44th annual Old Spider Tour. Each year, the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon (AROO) celebrates the early Spiders by having a tour. The tour commemorates club founder Bob McGill’s purchase of his 1958 Giulietta Spider, new, from Rambo Motors in Portland. He traded in his MGA and never looked back.…

There’s been a trend in the market the past few years that leaves me totally confused. Owners are taking vintage cars and updated or backdating them to perform better than they did when new. These resto-mods are often selling for six figures. This can be more than a nicely kept original. Even more confusing to…

I’m trying to decide whether to convert my 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto headlights to recessed Euro-spec or keep the U.S.-spec chrome trim under the plexi covers. While admittedly a first-world problem, I have been vexed by this question since I purchased my car in 2014. My car, S/N AR661909 (and engine AR00536.09090), was delivered with…

The Portland Swap Meet has been on hiatus for the past two years, for obvious reasons. It’s been a long and boring pandemic, so this year’s event was highly anticipated, at least by me. The swap happens at the Portland Expo Center, with five large buildings and the entire parking lot filled with parts and…

Last week I described taking the 1971 SCM Citroën DS21 Pallas for a drive. My son Bradley accompanied me. He is gradually developing a tolerance – if not yet an affection – for the oddities the Citroën presents. After our morning drive, we topped the tank off with non-ethanol gas and slid the car into…

Three things came together this weekend to let me exercise two SCM cars. First, the weather was perfect. Well, perfect for Oregon in March: Overcast, about 50 degrees and occasional light sprinkles in the forecast. Second, both the 1971 Jaguar V12 2+2 and the 1971 Citroën DS21 Pallas were in fine fettle. Third, as my…

Eight-hundred and forty-six. That’s the number of comments I have made on Bring a Trailer auctions. My auction handle is “330America.” I chose this name to commemorate the Ferrari 330 America I pulled out of a barn in Montana 30 years ago, used starter fluid to get running, and drove home 550 miles to Portland.…

Blame it on the “alerts.” Being able to select “notify me when one comes up for sale” on a collector car auction website has surely changed collecting more than anything else. In just the past few days, listings on Bring a Trailer have included these Alfas: A Junior Zagato, a Giulia Spider Normale, a Duetto…